9-1-1

9-1-1
9-1-1; What Is Your Emergency?

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Path to Professionalism

One of the keys to developing as a professional is to view dispatching as your career, not just your job. In a career, our objective is to grow in our ability to perform effectively over the long term. In a job, our objective is to show up for work on time and get paid regularly. One of the first steps in developing a career is to make a commitment to continue your personal and professional development within your chosen field. Researching and studying the following areas is a solid way to start this development process.

Training
Information on upcoming training programs you would like to attend, notes from previous courses taken, certificates, and training ideas to use in-house.

Equipment
Information on equipment operation and maintenance within your own communications center, new communications equipment developments, and new equipment developments in the Public Safety areas you dispatch for.

Networking
Information on contacts you have made with other communications professionals, local associations, and national organizations.

Memos
Copies of memos you have sent to supervisors requesting action or making suggestions.

Articles
Copies of articles from newspapers, magazines, and trade journals on dispatchers and communications centers.

Jobs Assisted On
Those crimes, incidents, and/or medical emergencies you actively participated in and played a significant role in.

Job Specifications
A copy of your own written job specifications, examples of job specifications from other communications centers, and your ideas for improving them.

To get fulfillment in what you do is one of the most gratifying experiences you can have. Dispatchers can do even more than this; they can use their skills to help others and save lives. Once you discover the satisfaction you can receive from striving to better yourself and the knowledge that you have made a difference for others, you will understand what motivates career dispatchers.

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